We are happy to announce the third commemoration day of the Mar Ngok lineage, in this century, celebrated at the Mahaparinirvana date of Ngok Choku Dorje. This online event is an annual celebration to revive the importance of the of the Hevajra and Nairatmya Practices and the connected Tantras. They were the main practices of the great Lord Marpa Lotsawa and his disciples of the Ngok lineage.
With doing so we hope to fulfill His Holiness’ wish to place Lord Marpa Lotsawa in his proper position of honor for the Kagyu lineages.
It is because it was in the Ngok family that Marpa’s tantric teachings flourished and were passed on to further generations that the Mahaparanirvana of Ngok Chokyu Dorje – one of Marpa’s heart-sons – was chosen as a date to commemorate the whole lineage.
In December 2020, His Holiness suggested a celebration to revive the knowledge of the Hevajra and Nairatmya Practices and the great efforts of the Ngok family. We are happy to commemorate this day with the following program that will last 1,5 hrs.
H.H. Drikung Kyabgon Tinley Lhundup will shed more light on Lord Marpa Lotsawa’s teachings. To do so he will give a Dharma talk with an overview about a specific approach to the perfection process practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa called Sepo and its protectors.
BIO: For His Holiness reviving Hevajra and Nairatmya and their practices, which nearly disappeared in the past centuries, was a big step during the last years. Also, to put back Marpa’s teaching at its proper place of honor, was a great wish. Meanwhile drubchens for these practices are hold on an annual basis in Asia, Europe and dharma talks and retreats in the US.
H.E. Choeze Kuchen Rinpoche will talk about the life of the great pandita Naropa the main teacher of Lord Marpa Lotsawa. Naropa himself received deep instructions by his guru Tilopa for 12 years. After reaching the state of Mahamudra he collected the Six Dharmas also known as the Six Yogas, which help to achieve Buddhahood more rapidly.
BIO: When His Holiness revived the Mar Ngok Hevajra Lineage, HE Choeze Kuchen received the Hevajra Empowerment. Strong devotion to Marpa Lotsawa arose in him and the wish to practice Hevajra the main yidam of Marpa Losawa. His Holiness then sent him into retreat and through this special karmic connection he became one of the first Hevajra student in this century. Rinpoche is still putting a lot of effort in researching more about these great scholars.
Dr. Cécile Ducher will give a short overview of the history and spiritual approach of what is called the “Mar-Ngok tradition”, that is to say the tantric system that Marpa Lotsawa received in India and transmitted in Tibet. Marpa’s tradition is part of the Kagyu lineage but differs in some ways from the approaches developed by his disciples Milarepa and Gampopa. Another of Marpa’s disciple was Ngok Chodor, and it was from him that the Mar-Ngok lineage evolved. That lineage’s central practices are the generation process rituals of Hevajra and Nairatmya. In this talk an overview of Marpa’s teachings will be given and how they are practiced nowadays. Also Dr. Ducher will talk about how the teachings were in particular preserved in the Drikung lineage and in a 19th century collection, the Kagyu Ngak Dzo.
BIO: Cécile Ducher has been researching the early history of the Kagyu lineage since 2000. She has been collaborating with the Mar Ngok Group since its foundation in 2017. Cécile published a book on Marpa’s biographies, and her PhD research was on the history of the Mar Ngok lineage. At present, she is translating the commentary His Holiness made for the Hevajra practices as well as being the main researcher for all Sadhanas of the Hevajra and Nairatmya cycle of the Mar Ngok Tradition. She will continue to study Marpa’s Hevajra tradition and aspires to contribute to the spread of the Mar Ngok lineage in whichever way possible.
Westin Harris will talk about the little-known topic of Dharma Protectors. In particular, Westin will discuss the history and significance of the Mar Ngok Tradition’s main protector, Dusolma. As an expert in Indian and Tibetan history, art and literature, he will lead us on a journey through stories and images, helping us better understand who Dusolma is and why she is so important in the lineage of Nāropa, Marpa, and the Ngok lamas.
BIO: Westin Harris joined the Mar Ngok group as a translator in 2018 to support His Holiness’s wish of preserving the core practices of the Marpa and Ngok Kagyu. He has helped translate and edit several sadhana texts related to the Hevajra-Nairatmya cycle. At present, he is translating a large corpus of texts devoted to the protectress Dusolma in the Kagyu Ngak Dzo as well as an important commentarial text on perfection phase yogas according to Marpa’s Hevajra-Nairatmya system. Beyond his translation activities, Westin will soon complete his PhD in the Study of Religion at the University of California, Davis, where he studies the life stories of mahāsiddhas like Virūpa.
The first Hevajra Group Accomplishment Retreat in the west took place in august 2018 at Milarepa Retreat Center in Germany.
